Iga Gubańska

Fabrication of polyurethane and polyurethane based composite fibres by the electrospinning technique for soft tissue engineering of cardiovascular system.

Electrospinning is a unique technique, which provides forming of polymeric scaffolds for soft tissue engineering, which include tissue scaffolds for soft tissues of the cardiovascular system. Such artificial soft tissues of the cardiovascular system may possess mechanical properties comparable to native vascular tissues. Electrospinning technique gives the opportunity to form fibres with nm- to μm-scale in diameter. The arrangement of obtained fibres and their surface determine the biocompatibility of the scaffolds. Polyurethanes (PUs) are being commonly used as a prosthesis of cardiovascular soft tissues due to their excellent biocompatibility, non-toxicity, elasticity and mechanical properties. PUs also possess fine spinning properties. The combination of a variety of PU properties with an electrospinning technique, conducted at the well tailored conditions, gives unlimited possibilities of forming novel polyurethane materials suitable for soft tissue scaffolds applied in cardiovascular tissue engineering. This paper can help researches to gain more widespread and deeper understanding of designing electrospinable PU materials, which may be used as cardiovascular soft tissue scaffolds. In this paper we focus on reagents used in PU synthesis designed to increase PU biocompatibility (polyols) and biodegradability (isocyanates). We also describe suggested surface modifications of electrospun PUs, and the direct influence of surface wettability on providing enhanced biocompatibility of scaffolds. We indicate a great influence of electrospinning parameters (voltage, flow rate, working distance) and used solvents (mostly DMF, THF and HFIP) on fibre alignment and diameter - what impacts the biocompatibility and hemocompatibility of such electrospun PU scaffolds. Moreover, we present PU modifications with natural polymers with novel approach applied in electrospinning of PU scaffolds. This work may contribute with further developing of novel electrospun PUs, which may be applied as soft tissue scaffolds of the cardiovascular system.

Bacterial cellulose in the field of wound healing and regenerative medicine of skin: recent trends and future prospectives

AbstractIn this overview, we focused on the bacterial cellulose (BC) applications, described in recently published scientific papers, in the field of skin regenerative medicine and wound care industry. Bacterial cellulose was proven to be biocompatible with living tissues. Moreover, its mechanical properties and porous structure are considered to be suitable for biomedical applications. It is due to the fact that porous structure of bacterial cellulose mimics the extracellular matrix of the skin. Moreover, it can also hold the incorporated drugs and other modifiers, which can modulate its properties improving the bacterial cellulose antimicrobial activity which is rather poor for native BC. Bacterial cellulose reveals high hydrophilic properties and never dries, which is a desired property, because it was proven that wounds heal better and faster when the wound is being constantly moisturized. This characteristic of bacterial cellulose indicates that it may successfully serve as wound dressings and skin tissue scaffolds.

Gelatin-Modified Polyurethanes for Soft Tissue Scaffold

Recently, in the field of biomaterials for soft tissue scaffolds, the interest of their modification with natural polymersis growing. Synthetic polymers are often tough, and many of them do not possess fine biocompatibility. On the other hand, natural polymers are biocompatible but weak when used alone. The combination of natural and synthetic polymers gives the suitable properties for tissue engineering requirements. In our study, we modified gelatin synthetic polyurethanes prepared from polyester poly(ethylene-butylene adipate) (PEBA), aliphatic 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and two different chain extenders 1,4-butanediol (BDO) or 1-ethoxy-2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethanol (EHEE). From a chemical point of view, we replaced expensive components for building PU, such as 2,6-diisocyanato methyl caproate (LDI) and 1,4-diisocyanatobutane (BDI), with cost-effective HDI. The gelatin was added in situ (in the first step of synthesis) to polyurethane to increase biocompatibility and biodegradability of the obtained material. It appeared that the obtained gelatin-modified PU foams, in which chain extender was BDO, had enhanced interactions with media and their hydrolytic degradation profile was also improved for tissue engineering application. Furthermore, the gelatin introduction had positive impact on gelatin-modified PU foams by increasing their hemocompatibility.

The Influence of Calcium Glycerophosphate (GPCa) Modifier on Physicochemical, Mechanical, and Biological Performance of Polyurethanes Applicable as Biomaterials for Bone Tissue Scaffolds Fabrication

In this paper we describe the synthesis of poly(ester ether urethane)s (PEEURs) by using selected raw materials to reach a biocompatible polyurethane (PU) for biomedical applications. PEEURs were synthesized by using aliphatic 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), α,ω-dihydroxy(ethylene-butylene adipate) (Polios), 1,4-butanediol (BDO) as a chain extender and calcium glycerolphosphate salt (GPCa) as a modifier used to stimulate bone tissue regeneration. The obtained unmodified (PURs) and modified with GPCa (PURs-M) PEEURs were studied by various techniques. It was confirmed that urethane prepolymer reacts with GPCa modifier. Further analysis of the obtained PURs and PURs-M by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy revealed the chemical composition typical for PUs by the confirmed presence of urethane bonds. Moreover, the FTIR and Raman spectra indicated that GPCa was incorporated into the main PU chain at least at one-side. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the PURs-M surface was in good agreement with the FTIR and Raman analysis due to the fact that inclusions were observed only at 20% of its surface, which were related to the non-reacted GPCa enclosed in the PUR matrix as filler. Further studies of hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, short term-interactions, and calcification study lead to the final conclusion that the obtained PURs-M may by suitable candidate material for further scaffold fabrication. Scaffolds were prepared by the solvent casting/particulate leaching technique (SC/PL) combined with thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS). Such porous scaffolds had satisfactory pore sizes (36–100 μm) and porosity (77–82%) so as to be considered as suitable templates for bone tissue regeneration.

Microporous Polyurethane Thin Layer as a Promising Scaffold for Tissue Engineering

The literature describes that the most efficient cell penetration takes place at 200–500 µm depth of the scaffold. Many different scaffold fabrication techniques were described to reach these guidelines. One such technique is solvent casting particulate leaching (SC/PL). The main advantage of this technique is its simplicity and cost efficiency, while its main disadvantage is the scaffold thickness, which is usually not less than 3000 µm. Thus, the scaffold thickness is usually far from the requirements for functional tissue reconstruction. In this paper, we report a successful fabrication of the microporous polyurethane thin layer (MPTL) of 1 mm thick, which was produced using SC/PL technique combined with phase separation (PS). The obtained MPTL was highly porous (82%), had pore size in the range of 65–426 µm and scaffold average pore size was equal to 154 ± 3 µm. Thus, it can be considered a suitable scaffold for tissue engineering purpose, according to the morphology criterion. Polyurethane (PUR) processing into MPTL scaffold caused significant decrease of contact angle from 78 ± 4° to 56 ± 6° and obtained MPTL had suitable hydrophilic characteristic for mammalian cells growth and tissue regeneration. Mechanical properties of MPTL were comparable to the properties of native tissues. As evidenced by biotechnological examination the MPTL were highly biocompatible with no observed apparent toxicity on mouse embryonic NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells. Performed studies indicated that obtained MPTL may be suitable scaffold candidate for soft TE purposes such as blood vessels.

Porosity and swelling properties of novel polyurethane–ascorbic acid scaffolds prepared by different procedures for potential use in bone tissue engineering

In this work, a novel polyurethane (PU) system based on poly(ethylene-butylene) adipate diol, 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate, 1,4-butanediol, and ascorbic acid was used to prepare scaffolds with potential applications in bone tissue engineering. Two fabrication methods to obtain porous materials were chosen: phase separation (PS)/salt particle leaching (PL) and solvent casting (SC)/salt PL. The calculated porosity demonstrated that scaffolds with a higher porosity were obtained (76–86%) using the PS/PL method. The morphology of pores was examined with the use of optical stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope. The appropriate porosity, pore morphology, and swelling properties for bone tissue scaffolds were obtained for our novel PU system by the PS/PL method using 15 wt% solution of PU in the mixture of dimethylformamide (DMF)/tetrahydrofuran solvents and by SC/PL method from 20 wt% from DMF. The distilled water and saline water swelling for those samples was also appropriate for bone tissue scaffold application.

Antibacterial polyurethanes, modified with cinnamaldehyde, as potential materials for fabrication of wound dressings

The epidermis is a skin layer, which protects an organism from the different factors of external environment. Therefore, the fast and effective regeneration of epidermis is important. Potential materials used for epidermis regeneration may be polyurethane scaffolds in form of the thin permeable layers. One and main disadvantage of such polyurethane scaffolds are their lack of antibacterial and antifungal properties. The great proposition to improve antiseptic properties of polyurethane epidermis scaffolds is to modify them with the use of substances, which reveal antiseptic, antimicrobial, and/or antifungal properties like cinnamaldehyde (CA). The great advantage speaking in favor of this compound is the fact that it has been approved and concerned as generally safe by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA. In this paper was described the fabrication of antibacterial microporous polyurethane scaffolds (MPTLs) in a form of a thin layers by using solvent-casting/particulate-leaching technique combined with thermally induced phase separation. Obtained MPTLs were modified with CA at different concentrations (0.5–5%): to establish the most suitable antibacterial effect of the CA introduced into the MPTLs matrix. Obtained unmodified and CA-modified MPTLs were characterized by mechanical and physicochemical properties as well as by identification of their antibacterial performance. The performed studies revealed that the most relevant antimicrobial effect of CA-modified MPTLs was observed when the CA concentration was 3.5%.